MUSIC OK, so more than 20 million
students are expected to enroll at college
this fall.
That's a whole lotta studying folks.
Turns out getting your kids college room
looking great on a budget, can be almost as challenging as
getting good grades.
Truly it is.
So we're about to be homeschooled by college room
designer, Stephanie McDade.
Good morning.
Thank you for having me.
I'm thrilled you're here this morning
because, you know, I've still got 4 years.
Samantha's starting freshman year in high school,
but you know, everybody tells me it goes like (snap fingers
sound).
Right?
Yes.
Now I know you're a design expert.
You're also a mom.
How hard is it Stephanie to get ready for that
first time when your child leaves to college?
Well, it is, it is very difficult.
I have a 25 year old, a 22 year old, and
a 15 year old.
And, when that first child went off to school
it was, it was very difficult.
You know, my baby's leaving, and you know, I had to get past
myself to make sure she was prepared.
So, once I was able to get past that, you know, we
started making lists, and getting ready, you know, like
what do we need, what do you wanna bring?
And we knew, like backpacks and clothing, and
things of that nature.
But it didn't dawn on me about like the
residence hall room.
Where is she gonna spend most of her
time?
Which is important because that really becomes their second
home, if you will.
Oh yeh.
Away from home, so.
Absolutely.
I know you've helped literally
millions of families do this, but I want you to help me now,
get through this challenge, which I'm gonna be doing in 3 or
4 years.
Making a room look homey for my daughter.
And making her wanna come home to
it, and on a budget.
Oh absolutely.
Well we consider the bed, the center of the residence
hall room.
It's where children are gonna eat, sleep, study,
socialize.
We want it to be comfortable.
We want it to be like their home, so that they
feel comfortable that they're studying.
They're getting the good grades.
You know, and acclimating to home away from
home.
OK, I've got my eye on this one because Samantha's
favorite color is blue.
This is beautiful!
Thanks, this is actually one of our brand new
patterns that we're putting out this year.
It's called Kaleidoscope.
We work with designers every year in New York
to come up with the latest and greatest trends.
And this was one of the ones that they
presented to us.
This comforter is super soft.
It has channel stitching which keeps everything
in place.
We have these fabulous new throws which are soft and
very popular, especially with the young ladies.
They like to cuddle up.
The bling bling is awesome.
Yes, we actually have some new throw pillows, just to
give a little personality.
Like hey, this is my thing, right?
It's bright, it's happy.
You come to the room and look at all
these accessories.
I love this.
Absolutely.
We have some poofs for seating, if you have a
guest.
You know, your girlfriends come over and hang
out.
And our storage chests, which are great, because not
only do they offer storage for shoes, books, what have you.
But it's also a tabletop.
And the rug is adorable.
Oh yeh.
Those are great because not all the
residence halls have carpeting.
So you wanna put your feet down - you don't wanna put your feet
down on a cold floor, you want something roasty toasty to put
your toes on.
Let's talk about this one here.
This one's actually beautiful too.
Very bright.
Again, one of our new designs.
And we decided to go with something a little brighter
this year, instead of a muted color.
Coral seems to be very popular and we just love the new
designs.
And again, we have some study pillows, which are great.
And again, another accent pillow.
We even have some wall art that you can purchase.
As well as shower caddies and
things like that.
And something I love also is how easy it is to
make the bed in the morning!
Yes.
You don't have to hassle to much.
Like at home they tell me, we don't wanna make our bed.
Look how easy this is.
That's right.
Make it and get off to study.
Well, don't think that they're gonna make it all the
time.
Oh god.
Hopefully, I'll tell my kids to do that.
Alright, so this is kind of cute.
Is this like a package?
Yes.
This is actually one of our value packs that we offer for
about $200.
And it's amazing, because it's basically what you
need all in one package.
You have a hamper, 6-piece towel
set, 2 bath sheets, 2 sheet sets, comforter, mattress pad,
memory foam, 2 under bed storage, 2 pillows, a lamp, a
fan, and again, it's $200 all delivered to you at home.
You know what I notice here is you
really do make it easier.
I mean this is not easy.
Let's start with that.
It's not easy to see your children leave.
But, you make the process easier.
That's right.
And that's what we wanna do.
We wanna make it a one-stop shop for parents so it's
convenient.
Now we have 3 different patterns here.
Do you have more styles?
We do.
We have over 50 combinations that we
offer.
And parents and their children go on our website and
decide what they wanna do, and personalize their space.
And again, personalize it, make it
feel homey and on a budget.
Absolutely.
Alright, for our viewers out there who'd like
more information Stephanie, where do they go?
They should go to ocm.com.
So maybe in a few years - oh gosh - I'll give you
a call, and I'll start working with you to get something for
Sam.
I would love to help.
Thank you so much.
I'm dreading that day.
Alright, and don't forget to go to our website of course,
thebalancingact.com.
We're always on Facebook and Twitter.
Oh so difficult but it's OK, it's reality.